My 10-year-old niece, Isha, who attends 6th grade in New Jersey, visited the orphanage with me recently. Since there were a lot of 6th graders there, we got together as a group and the kids shared their experiences learning languages in the different settings. They talked about books they read, what kinds of tests they had, and topics they liked to write about. The discussions occurred in Hindi, Bengali, and English.

Today the orphanage received a VERY special guest, Daniel Solomon, an anthropology doctoral student from the United States. He came and spent some time with the kids, speaking to them in Hindi and English. Danny explained (using a globe) where he came from, and engaged the students in discussions about the kinds of sports and games people play in the United States, making good use of a whiteboard. The children had questions for Danny about his family, his work in India, and what he was studying. When Danny left, the kids kept asking him to return tomorrow: “डैनी भय्या कल आयेंगे, ना?”! We are VERY hopeful he’ll be back soon!

Here’s a short video clip of Danny showing where he lives and his family lives, and then a small gallery of photos for the visit.